Cascade Summer/Autumn 2012 - Plymouth Hospitals

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9News from around the Trust
Collaborative Research Conference 2012
Collaborative research for the benefit of patients and health services was the main focus of a conference
held recently, organised by the Research and Development Department. The conference, entitled
Collaborative Research – from Ideas to
Implementation, was held at the Derriford
Postgraduate Medical Centre on Friday 14
September 2012 and was the second of its
type hosted by the Trust following on from
the success of last year’s event. Around
200 delegates had the opportunity to listen
to speakers invited from health and
academic institutions in the south west.
Dr Helen Neilens, Research Advisor for
PHNT, said: “We recognise that
collaboration is key when undertaking
valuable health research and we are in the
extremely fortunate position of having
talented researchers in the south west who
are dedicated in working together and
conducting research for the benefit of all NHS
patients. High quality health research requires
input from healthcare providers, academia
and industry. With this in mind, we invited
speakers who represent all these areas.
Professor Matthew Cramp; Professor Neil Avent, Head of
School of Biomedicine and Biological Sciences, Plymouth
University ; Professor Wendy Purcell, Vice-Chancellor,
Plymouth University;Ms Helen Quinn, Senior Manager;
Professor Simon Rule, Associate Director of R&D; James
Brook, Director, Prime Sites, Quintiles
“The diversity of the speakers and delegates reflected the variety of health research being conducted in
the south west and demonstrated the many opportunities for future projects that can be collaborated on.”
New E-learning Toolkit for Nurses Caring for Patients with Liver Disease
by Amanda Clements
As Chair of the British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL)
Nurses Forum, I am the chief editor involved in developing an e-learning
toolkit designed to offer opportunities for hospital and community nurses
who are involved in caring for patients with liver disease. This provides
access to evidence-based information and resources about liver wellbeing
and disease. The toolkit makes the use of the latest e-learning
techniques to deliver information in an interactive and user-friendly
format. The toolkit aims to help nurses share good practice and apply
learning to nursing practice through case studies and reflective activities.
The content has been developed under the guidance of an editorial panel
of senior liver disease nurses lead by me, with input from the British Liver
Trust. The development of the toolkits was made possible by an
unrestricted educational grant from MSD.
Whenever and wherever I can in my role as a Nurse consultant in Hepatology, I take every opportunity to
raise awareness of liver disease and share good practice in order to provide the highest quality of care
of patients and their families affected by liver disease. This is increasingly important as the prevalence of
liver disease is growing and is now the fifth most common cause of death in the U.K. This toolkit
provides an invaluable and accessible educational resource to support the knowledge necessary to
develop the clinical competencies that are required for Hepatology nursing.
Sarah Wise of the British Liver Trust said, ““From a patient’s perspective, we wholeheartedly welcome a
tool such as this to aid the education of nurses looking to increase their understanding of liver conditions.
The problems associated with the liver are broad however the majority of liver damage can be prevented
through appropriate interventions and lifestyle advice. This tool encompasses solutions and information
to help nurses make the right decisions for their liver patients.”